Lansdale Mayor Szekely threatens veto of borough complex plans in last meeting at old Borough Hall

Lansdale Borough Council members, staff and the public convene for the last council meeting in Borough Hall, 1 Vine Street, Wednesday evening Oct. 16 2013. (The Reporter/Mark C. Psoras)

LANSDALE — The last borough council meeting in Lansdale’s Borough Hall ended with the first veto threat by borough Mayor Andy Szekely.

Borough council voted unanimously Wednesday night to grant the preliminary and final land development approval for the borough’s new municipal complex - a motion Szekely said he would veto and force an override vote from council in November.

“I’ve disagreed with this from day one. I fully expect council to override my veto, but from what I’ve heard and seen on the streets, $10 million spent on a borough hall and what other options are there?” Szekely said.

Borough staff have announced that council’s next meetings on Nov. 6 will be held at the North Penn School District’s Educational Services Center, located at 401 E. Hancock St., while Borough Hall is closed for approximately two years of construction. Borough staff members have said the agenda for that first meeting will likely include a bid award for the construction of the new complex - and Szekely said Wednesday that he will choose not to sign off on the land development approval, vetoing it and requiring a motion to override Szekely’s veto at its next business meeting.

“I understand that renovations need to be done, and I understand that the police station needs to be done. But the issue is, none of those other options were explored, so I have to vote my conscience,” Szekely said.

In his time as mayor, Szekely said, he’s kept track of the attendance at every council meeting he has been to, and that number has averaged 13 - “they want to build a new council room that seats 120 people. I disagree.”

Szekely said the reasoning behind his veto must be formally presented in a letter to borough Solicitor Mark Hosterman and council can choose to override it at its next business meeting with a two-thirds vote of its nine members.

Council President Matt West and Vice President Mary Fuller said they were disappointed that Szekely, in the face of a unanimous vote in favor of the approval, still chose to veto.

“I find that type of act to be obstructionist,” said West, and what he termed a reflection of national political debates that have trickled down to the local level - “the antithesis of what we’ve worked to hard to do” in preparing the plans for a new complex.

Fuller added that the new complex plans have been vetted by council, its Administration and Finance committee, by staff, and the borough Planning Commission, “upside down and sideways,” with minimal public opposition at any point.

“I’ve walked the streets, talked to people, and I’ve not had any complaints to me that don’t want this project. I’ve had a couple about the design,” Fuller said, and the appearance of the planned building, but no objections to the need itself, nor the financing via a capital project bond approved last year.

“This will not raise taxes. We have the money in the bank for this project,” Fuller said.

During her report to council following the vote and veto threat, borough Manager Timi Kirchner said that she and staff in her office have taken to calling their offices “the icebox” because of extreme cold produced by an aging heating and air conditioning system - until one particular day two weeks ago.

“We showed up ready for the icebox, dressed for the icebox, and it was 82 degrees in my office suite. That’s sort of life in borough hall, all the time, among a number of other discomforts,” Kirchner said.

Fuller pointed out that Kirchner’s story, and a visible hole in the ceiling of council chambers caused by building flooding from heavy rains this past summer, were two more reasons that council and the mayor should support the new combined complex project.

“Day after day we’ve been on the inside. We know what’s wrong with these buildings. I’m not quite sure what your motive for this veto is, but I am disappointed,” she said.

Councilman Jack Hansen asked after the vote that the awarding of the bid for the municipal complex not be made until a new borough council is seated in January, following elections in November for five council seats and the mayor’s position.

“This is going to be a project that council is going to be dealing with for the next two years,” Hansen said; “it’s also a project that’s going to affect this borough for the next 50 to 60 years, because we intend for this new building to be a gleaming icon in the town.”

Councilman Dan Dunigan replied that he felt a delay “would be completely irresponsible,” since the current council has vetted the plans and provided their feedback and any new members would have to be brought up to speed.

“We planned for it, the money’s in the bank, we’ve gone through the designs, so to get down the road and say “Eh, we’ll let the next guy decide whether or not to get it done,’ no thanks,” Dunigan said.

Szekely said after the meeting that he hopes to elaborate on his thoughts via his blog MayorSzekely.wordpress.com, but only decided to veto on his way to Wednesday night’s meeting, and said political reasons were far from his mind.

“If anything, I’m in an even more vulnerable position now,” he said.

Borough council’s next meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the North Penn School District’s Educational Services Center, located at 401 E. Hancock St. Kirchner and Hosterman said an override of Szekely’s veto of the land development approval for the municipal complex project will be on the agenda for that night, as will the bid award for construction of the complex.

The bid award vote by council cannot be vetoed by the mayor since it is “not a legislative action,” Hosterman said.

For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Lansdale.org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.